LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SOME AMERICAN EVILS 



AND 



THEIR REMEDIES 



A SERIES OF 



Five Short Religio-Secular Sunday Evening Lectures 

Delivered from the Pulpit of the First Christian 

Church, Emporia, Kan., in the Summer of 1889 




GEO. F. HALL 



'There ought to be a system of manners in every nation which a well formed 
mind would be disposed to relish. To make us love our country, our country ought 
to be lovely." — Burke, '"'■Reflections of the French Revohition." 



CINCINNATI 

STANDARD PUBLISHING COxMPANY 

1889 







Copyright, 1 889, by 
Geo. F. Hall. 



DEDICATION. 



To whom more kind and appreciative could the author inscribe this 
little work than to his Father? A humble man, a loyal citizen, a faithful 
friend, a noble Christian, — long, long may he live, a blessing to his children, 
an example to his neighbors, an honor to his country. May his declining 
years be freighted with the Saviour's tenderest gifts. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



"My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, — 

Of thee I sing ; 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrim's pride, 
From every mountain side. 
Let freedom ring !" 

Samuel F. Smith. 

America is to-day the king of nations. Though young- 
est among the giants of earth, our nation is the most in- 
telligent, the most wealthy, and, consequently, the most 
powerful of all. Herein lies our danger. The great na- 
tions of antiquity did not decline and fall while ignorant, 
poor, and weak, but after they had attained to mighti- 
ness, and in that mightiness w^axed corrupt. History 
repeats itself. To the student of the times no fact is more 
patent than that America is rapidly becoming America's 
worst enemy. 

It is desired in these five short lectures to point out 
a few of America's evils, and to propose what shall seem 
to be the most certain and speedy remedy for each. The 
author does not pretend to be exhaustive, but simply 
suggestive. He aims at an agitation. If he shall sue 
ceed in arousing one thoughtful mind to an appreciative 
sense of the awful dangers threatening our national fabric, 
his work shall not have been in vain. 

What a glorious land is ours ! What a noble govern- 



6 INTRODUCTORY. 

ment ! One feels like quoting the words of Byron in 
^^Childe Harold": 

" Oh, Christ ! it is a goodly sight to see 
What heaven hath done for this dehcious land.'' 

God forbid that we should take one backward step ! 
There is too much r.t stake. We must not falter in the 
path of duty. We must eradicate these growing evils. 
Oh, America — 

'' Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee, 
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears. 
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. 
Are all with thee, are all with thee/' 

Longfellow. 

In the preparation of these lectures the author has 
consulted various authorities. Among the most helpful 
were *' Our country," by Dr. Josiah Strong, and *'Isms, 
New and Old," by Dr. Geo. C. Lorimer. From these, 
and other valuable works, much has been '* absorbed/' 
In many instances due credit is given for borrowed facts, 
but not in all. Should an author attempt to give credit 
for everything borrowed his book would be little better 
than a cyclopaedia of references. It is believed that the 
average reader in this day and age wants results, not pro- 
cesses. Here are some of the results of a conscientious 
study of the questions before us. May each reader rise 
from the perusal of these pages as the author rises from 
their preparation, with that earnest petition expressed in 
a hymn by Dwight : 

God bless our native land I 
Firm may she ever stand 

Through storm and night ; 
\yhen the wild tempests rave. 
Ruler of wind and wave, 
Do thou our country save 

By thy great might. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

For her our prayers shall rises 
To God above the skies ; 

On him we wait. 
Thou who art ever nigh, 
Guarding with watchful eye, 
To thee aloud we cry, 

God sa^ e the State !" 



LECTURE I. 

America's Socialism ; or, W^hat Shall Be Done About 
Foreign Immigration? 

Socialism, according to Louis Blanc, is a system 
which attempts to take ''from each according to his abil- 
ities ; " and to distribute '' to each according to his wants. " 
Were this system consistent and successful it would cer- 
tainly bring about an Utopian condition of society very 
speedily. But, like all attempts at the invention of " per- 
petual motion," it will not work. 

Perhaps the fault is in the system rather than the 
theory. This we will not discuss. But looking at social- 
ism as it is to-day, there is little, or nothing in it, to be 
praised. On the other hand there is much, very much, 
to be condemned. The attempt to form a perfect society 
out of. strikingly imperfect individuals is vain. Herbert 
Spencer truly says that ''there is no political alchemy 
by which you can get golden conduct out of leaden in- 
stinct." 

Socialism, according to Josiah Strong, proposes to 
reorganize society on a co-operative, rather than a compet- 
itive basis — a beautiful idea, were its subjects in fit state 
for such organization. But men do not gather figs from 
thistles. A stream can not rise higher than its fountain. 
The socialist is powerless in the regeneration of existing 
conditions, so long as he himself remains unregenerate. 

Socialism is of European extraction. In its various 
forms its geneology may be traced back several centuries. 



lO SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Its history is a startling story of violent unrest, and troub- 
lous dreams, often followed by shocking revolutions of 
greater or lesser extent. The seeds of this noxious plant 
have been blown to the four quarters of the earth. In no 
place have they taken deeper root, or grown more rapidly, 
than in our own beloved land of freedom. America's so- 
cialism is becoming a frightful sore on the body politic. 
Something must be done to check its speed, or it will 
soon make us a very sick nation. 

There are the better and the worse comprising the so- 
cialistic classes of America. A few^ are noble-minded, 
large-hearted, and veritably seek the greatest good for the 
greatest number. But by far the larger number of Amer- 
ica's socialists are restless, envious, selfish, virtueless men, 
often reckless and desperate to terrible extremes. So 
much so is this the case to-day that, to the true Ameri- 
can, the very word socialist is enough to chill the blood. 
They all favor revolution. They urge the complete over- 
throw of many of our most sacred institutions. A few, 
perhaps, do not openly oppose our domestic and religious 
life, but the larger number are thoroAjghly devoted to the 
vicious doctrines of anarchy. They say, practically, Let 
us have done with law ! Let us have done with private 
property ! Let us have done with the family ! Let us 
have done with the church ! Said Herr Most, that prince 
of the more common type of American socialism, "Re- 
ligion, authority and state, are all caived out of the same 
piece of wood — ""o the devil with them all ! " The same 
authority, in his despicable sheet, '' Freiheit,'' recom- 
mends '*a new geneology, traced from mothers, whose 
nartles, and not those of the fathers, descend to the chil- 
dren, since it is never certain who the father is ! " The so- 
cialist has little use for the church. He scoffs at the prom- 
ise of a heaven, saying, in substance, that the preaching of 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. II 

a paradise above is but a trick of the rich to further op- 
press the poor. Dr. Strong, in his excellent work, ^'Our 
country," quotes the following from '* Truth,'' a journal 
published in San Francisco: *'When the laboring men 
understand that the heaven which they are promised here- 
after is but a mirage, they will knock at the door of the 
wealthy robber, with a musket in hand, and demand their 
share of the goods of this life now." This spirit is char- 
acteristic of socialism. Its advocates know^ but one 
method for the accomplishment of its ends — force. Might, 
with the socialist, means right. He is ready to use the 
musket, the knife, or dynamite. He has no appreciative 
sense of the value of human life. He regards the body of 
a rich man as little more precious than the body of a hog. 
Indeed, one authority goes so far as to remark that '' Dyna- 
mite can be made out of the dead bodies of capitalists as well 
as out of hogs. " The Socialists' motto seems to be. Death 
to every man who opposes our clique in any way, shape or 
form ! Witness the recent happenings at the Haymarket 
in Chicago, and the terrible developments in the celebrated 
Cronin case. There are too many organized societies like 
the '' Clan-na-gael," and the ''Black Hand," for the 
safety of America. These societies defy our laws, dese- 
crate our Lord's days, and hoist in our very faces the red 
flag of anarchy. A beer-guzzling, free-loving, God-hating 
class is this, which delights in calling itself the safe-guard 
of American socialism. Is it not high time that we awake 
to a sense of our awful danger as a nation ? Is it not 
high time we were looking these matters squarely in the 
face ? 

The strength of America's socialism is becoming alarm- 
ing. There are organizations in nearly all our larger cities 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Some of these organiza- 
tions have grown very powerful. Several years ago Presi- 



12 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

dent Seelye said: ** There are probably 100,000 men in 
the United States to-day whose animosity against all ex- 
isting social institutions is hardly less than boundless/* 
The Knights of Labor alone, which organization is com- 
posed largely of socialists of one type or another, at one 
time numbered a full half million. Only a comparatively 
meager idea of the strength of America's socialism can be 
formed. Like a dark, threatening cloud, socialism is rap- 
idly spreading from Maine to California, and all it lacks is 
a more thorough organization and drill, when it shall be 
able, unless speedily checked, to deluge our fair land with 
shame and ruin. 

Let us now examine some of the helps to socialism. 
In Europe the causes of this terrible disorder have doubt- 
less been the despotism of rulers, the crowded conditions 
of the nations, and the consequent poverty of the mill- 
ions. It is not so in America. Here we have a repub- 
lican form of government, plenty of room, and, until re- 
cently, equal opportunities for the accumulation of wealth. 
We say, until recently. Some one may here inquire : 
When did these equal rights disappear ? We answer : 
When our government began the fostering of '' pools," 
** trusts,'' and all forms of heartless monopolies, to the 
betterment of the rich and the detriment of the poor. We 
have hundreds of thousands of laborers in the United 
States to-day who can scarcely hope to ever see the day 
when the sun will shine through the windows of a cottage 
which they can call their own, for it takes all they 
can make from year to year to keep the wolf from 
the door. Even the wife and children are compelled to 
assist in earning the daily bread. Thus is rapidly being 
developed a class, and a sorrowfully large class it is, 
which knows little of books, pleasure, or ambition. At 
the same time our Vanderbilts, Goulds, Sages, Carnegies, 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 13 

and others, are piling up colossal fortunes. No poor 
man can cope with them. Their money even buys them 
seats in the halls of legislation, where laws, suitable to 
their own better interests, are enacted. All this but sharp- 
ens the pinions of socialism, and this fact can not but be 
patent to all, viz : The rich growing richer, and the poor 
growing poorer, has a mJghty tendency in the direction of 
social revolution. 

But af all causes for this dreadful malady, and largely 
of all our other national maladies, the most conspicuous is 
that of foreign immigration. Two hundred years ago 
Europe sent us her best blood. No nobler men lived in 
the seventeenth century than the Puritans of England, the 
Huguenots of France, and others, who, like them, longed 
for an asylum where they could enjoy the blessings of re- 
ligious freedom, and a fuller, freer, development. For a 
hundred years and more, our sister continent sent us tens 
of thousands of her most manly men, and most womanly 
women. They came for life. They put heart and soul 
and body into the higher advancement of America. But 
how is it to-day ? To-day we get the very dregs of the 
earth's nations. Europe has made America a dumping 
ground for her filth. To this rule, of course, there are 
notable and worthy exceptions, but the general fact re- 
mains the same. Every month there lands at Castle Gar- 
den and the Golden State, whole regiments of the most 
rotten humanity on the face of the earth. Now and then, 
it is true, we receive a company worthy of our hearty 
welcome. To such, God-speed. But, O fair Colum- 
bia! a welcome long continued to such offal as now so 
often seeks thy embrace, will work thy certain and speedy 
downfall. 

In 1882 Germany alone sent us nearly 250,000 emi- 
grants. Many of these have made good citizens. But 



14 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

perhaps the large majority have been a fearful detriment 
to our country. From Germany we receive the greater 
bulk of our socialism. And German socialists are noto- 
rious for their atheism. Said Boruttau, '' No man else is 
worthy of the name of socialist save he who, himself an 
atheist, devotes his exertions, with all zeal, to the spread 
of atheism.." A large percentage of America's 200,000 
saloonkeepers, brewers, and distillers are of German ex- 
traction. Atheism and liquor are unfailing producers of 
crime. It is a significant fact that probably not less than 
nine-tenths of America's crimes are committed by per- 
sons of foreign extraction. Thus foreign immigration 
fills our prisons and work-houses with worse than paupers. 
It fosters the manufacture and consumption of all kinds 
of liquor — that fit accompaniment for atheism, free-love, 
and everything that is morally degrading. It populates 
our splendid area with unworthy and unwelcome inhabit- 
ants. It clogs the wheels of our national progress in 
every way. Shall we not open our eyes to this ominous 
evil, and endeavor to seek out the remedy? 

The tendency of socialism in America is toward revo- 
lution and ruin. That there is a crying need for a revo- 
lution in numerous quarters of our national domain no 
student of the times will deny. But we do not want 
ruin, and a socialistic revolution in our country to-day 
would mean simply ruin. Revolutions have been mighty 
aids in the development of nations and peoples when 
consistently conducted by the right stamp of men. But 
a revolution desperately conducted by wofully inconsist- 
ent men can be nothing less than ruinous. Yet the tend- 
ency of our nation's socialistic movements to-day, con- 
ducted as they are by the most dangerous characters to 
a nation's perpetuity, is altogether in the direction of 
frightful ruin. Every new "trust" organized makes the 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 15 

socialist more desperate. Every new indignity heaped 
upon the poor workingman by the rich capitaHst only 
sharpens the socialist's hatred for a government that will 
allow such injustices. 

The socialist has every convenience to-day for a most 
terrible campaign. Dynamite, nitro-glycerine, the Gat- 
ling gun, balloons and bombs, and a hundred other 
agencies that could be easily and skilfully used in deadly 
destruction. Never before in the world's history were 
there as many means of committing havoc as now. 
Should the socialists of America organize and drill uni- 
versally as numerous bands are already doing, we might 
expect the most hideous carnival of blood and smoke 
and desolation ever witnessed on the face of the earth. 
And it now seems only a question of time when more 
attention will be given by socialists to such organizing 
and disciplining. So, what ought to be done? What can 
be done? It is little more than child's-play to pass reso- 
lutions on these matters. It seems that it does not mend 
matters even to legislate. Nothing, however, can be ac- 
complished without legislation. What we need, there- 
fore, is a quiet, thoughtful, consistent legislation, and 
then a quick, fair, uncompromising execution. There is 
no time to be lost. What is done must be done quickly 

We would urge, first, sin education of the masses on 
the exact status of affairs. Let the ministers of our coun- 
try thunder the facts of our nation's peril from their pul- 
pits one hundred thousand strong. It should be of deep 
concern to every minister of the living God — the safety 
and perpetuity of his country. Oh, let the people be 
taught by those whose teaching is always respected ! 
The ministry of America is well-nigh all-powerful when 
united, active, determined. Let the facts, then, of our 
dangers be sounded out in every church. 



1 6 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Let the press also take up the cry and carry it on to 
the utmost parts of our land. America is threatened ! 
Wolves are entering our fold! Shut the gates! Shut 
the gates ! 

And let the teachers of our schools catch the sound. 
Let them fill every pupil's heart with love for the ''land 
o' the brave and free," and fire his soul with true patriot- 
ism ! 

We must check immigration. It is useless for us to cry 
peace, peace, safety, safety, when our peace is threatened, 
and our safety very uncertain. Amerca's socialism has 
become a most obnoxious sore. It is spreading. It is 
becoming chronic. It is striking at the vitals. Its chief 
cause is the unceasing immigration of foreigners with 
all that is impure, unwholesome, rottening. Why not 
stop the immigration of such trash? 

But how? 

By beginning at home. Begin at the polls. Let us 
elect clean-handed, whole-heated men to all our offices. 
The particular party should not concern us so much as 
the man and the principles. We want men in our halls 
of legislation to-day who will serve the best interests of 
country rather than private pocket-book. Men with 
Henry Clay, John Calhoun, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew 
Jackson, and Daniel Webster qualities in their make-up. 
Oh, for men, to-day, to stand at the gates of America and 
say to the approaching socialist, anarchist, nihilist, and 
to-all whosoever w^ould enter in simply to defile : Depart ! 
You can^t come in here! Let Congress require, through 
a competent board of commissioners, a careful inspection 
of every incoming foreigner — credentials signed by offi- 
cers of his government should be demanded. The mo- 
tive for leaving native land satisfactorily explained. And 
likewise the motive for setting foot upon American 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 1/ 

soil. This is our home. We can not afford to welcome 
every vagabond of creation and say to one and all, Enter 
in to the riches and joys of our paradise ; do as your heart 
desireth ; this is a free country ! It would be right for 
us as a nation to make very exact, very strict require- 
ments of every foreign immigrant. Those who would 
manifest an unwilhngness, then, to comply with such require- 
ments, or those zuho could not present satisfactory evidences 
of good and patinotic intent, let them be refused admittance at 
every port. Such a course ought not to be construed un- 
American. // must not be. For just as true as the sun 
shines upon a prosperous republic here to-day, it will cast 
its shadows upon a lost and ruined government to-morrow, 
unless we come to a point like this. Disease is danger- 
ous to the physical system. It is likewise dangerous to 
political, religious, and social systems. America is dis- 
eased to-day We m.ust prevent the causes of any fur- 
ther disease, and purify, or our decline and death is 
sure. 

Israel was wonderfully and mightily blessed in Canaan 
until she began to marry and intermarry with other na- 
tions, and so to absorb evil customs and transgress the 
laws of Jehovah. The result was a bitter, bitter punish- 
ment. We may safely remark that all the nations of an- 
tiquity w^ere ruined from the effects of an absorption of 
evil from other nations and peoples — an absorption which 
speedily developed into an inward corruption. So wall it 
be wath America if she continues to sleep under the rever- 
berating warnings of all history and all truth. Oh, then, 
let us check this awful influx of a vile immigration by the 
speedy adoption and enforcement of strict, consistent 
laws — laws which shall not be any impediment to the 
honest and worthy, but which shall totally prohibit the 
entrance of the scape-goat. It will be but a question of 



15 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

time, then, when we can practically annihilate America's 
socialism, for its chief feeder will be gone. The process 
of assimilation w^ill then go on unhindered, and instead of 
having many nations in one, jangling, carping, fighting, 
destroying, we will have one grand, harmonious, incom- 
parable America. 

The author is not a pessimist. He hates an uncalled- 
for criticism. But he deeply feels the burning necessity 
of such a warning on this subject as he has endeavored 
brieflv to crive. Americans must awake to a sense of the 
imperative importance of such questions. We must not 
suffer the enemy to lead us across the danger line. We 
must act decisively, and that at once. 

Oh, Columbia ! Our faith in tliee shall not waver. 
Thou wilt surely cleanse thyself speedily of this foul 
stain. Let us away with mere sentiment! Let us out 
upon intruders ! Up with the stars and stripes of purity, 
liberty, equality ! God reigns, and the government at 
Washington shall live on and on forever — until the na- 
tions of earth shall be marshalled on the peaceful fields 
of eternal heaven ! 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. I9 



LECTURE II. 

America's Baeehanalianism ; or, What Shall Be 
Done With Our Tipplers and Tippler-makers? 

" Ha! see where the wild, blazing grog shop appears, 
As the red waves of wretchedness swell ; 
How it burns on the edge of tempestuous years ; 
The horrible LIGHT HOUSE OF hell! " 

— McDonald Clark. 

Among the wisest of all the wise sayings of King Sol- 
omon, is that one introducing his twentieth chapter of 
Proverbs: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; 
and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." If this 
statement was true in Solomon's time, nearly three thou- 
sand years ago, it is, if possible, a hundred-fold more ver- 
itable in this day and generation. 

We smile at the credulity of ancient idol-worshipers. 
We thank our stars that we live in a more intelligent and 
more favored age. And yet, Amicrica, as a nation, is 
practically making a mighty god out of Bacchus. The 
worship of this idol is carried on in this Christian land to- 
day with more ceremony and in more splendor than ever 
before in the history of the race. This is a grave charge. 
But will not the facts that are everywhere ready for the 
gathering substantiate the correctness of the statement? 

It has been said that all the nations of antiquity died 
dnink. Whether this is absolutely true or not, it is cer- 
tain that strong drink has played a prominent part in the 
decline and fall of nations. Strong drink has ever gone 
hand in hand wTth all forms of blighting excess. 

In America Baeehanalianism has taken deep root in 
nearly every city, town and village. Within full view of 



20 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

our churches are thousands of shrines devoted to the wor- 
ship of this foul god, and every twelve months added to our 
independence sees over seventy thousand lives sacrificed 
on his bloody altar. Bacchanalianism has, despite all op- 
position, developed in this glorious land of Bibles a fearful 
host of tipplers and tippler-makers. . This, too, in the face of 
a constantly growing sentiment against the use of strong 
drink as a beverage. In its issue of September 25, 1884, 
TheVoice said : '* In the United States the consumption of 
beer has increased, since 1840, 1,675 P^^ cent.; of wine, 
400 per cent.; and of ardent spirits, over 200 per cent." 
These were not the estimates of partisans merely, but the 
figures taken from government reports. Dr. Strong says, 
** According to these official reports, the people of the 
United States used four gallons of intoxicating drinks per 
caput in 1840, and twelve gallons per caput in 1883. 
During the five years preceding 1884, while the popula- 
tion increased about 15 per cent, the consumption of dis- 
tilled spirits increased 44.5 percent., and that of malt 
liquors 60.2 per cent. The production of the latter has 
risen from 1,628,934 barrels in 1863, to 18,998,619 bar- 
rels in 1884." It is difficult to comprehend* the alarming 
proportions of the drink business in our country. No 
figures can express the amount of sin and suffering en- 
tailed by this curse. Steadily it has borne down upon 
us, until to-day we are practically under the demon's hid- 
eous control. We have, in round numbers, 200,000 
liquor dealers in our land, and 100,000 ministers. Think 
of it ! Twice as many white-aproned, red-nosed, bloated- 
bellied priests of Bacchus as we have preachers of the 
sweet go.spel of Christ ! Twice as many ministers of the 
vile god of strong drink as we have of the pure and holy 
Saviour ! And yet this is a Christian nation ! Oh, 
Consistency, thou art indeed the fairest of jewels! 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. * 21 

**If intemperance," said the New York Tribune, in 
June, 1889, ''were a new evil, coming in upon us for 
the first time, Hke a pestilence from some foreign shore, 
ladened with its awful burden of disease, of pauperism, 
and crime, with what horror would the nation contemplate 
its monstrous approach ! What severity of laws, what 
stringencies of quarantine, what activities of resistance, 
would soon be aroused ! But, alas ! it is no new evil. It 
surrounds us like an atmosphere, as it has our fathers 
through countless generations. It perverts judgments, it 
poisons habits, it sways passions, it taints churches, and 
sears consciences. It seizes the enginery of our legisla- 
tion, and by it creates a moral phenomenon of perpetual 
motion, which nature denies to physics ; for it licenses 
and empowers itself to beget its endless rounds, the 
wrongs, vices and crimes which society is organized to 
prevent. And — worst of all for our country — it encoils 
parties like the serpents of Laocoon, and crushes in its 
folds the spirit of virtue and patriotism." Yet, under the 
weight of all these facts, our newspapers, our statesmen, 
our leaders of business and society, go on from had to 
worse, with but now and then a spasmodic effort toward 
chaining the dragon. Many even go so far as to say. Let 
him alone ! Let him go free and unrestricted, as he did 
in the good old days ! Others again say. Let the monster 
run only in certain fields, and make him pay dearly for 
the privilege, only let him run ! But an unruly beast is 
dangerous, even when surrounded with the best of fences. 
The beast still remains a burden to his owner. Just so 
strong drink to-day endangers, intimidates, curses, Amer- 
ica. It is an unmixed evil, devilish and damnable to the 
core, and no minister of the living God — indeed, no man 
professing the name Christian, should allow himself by 
thought, or word, or vote, or deed, to shame his high 



22 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

and noble calling in any advocacy of the ignoble busi- 
ness. ^ 

Strong drink unmans men. It makes them brutish. 
It leads them into every manner of evil. The great John 
B. Gough presents many incidents illustrative of the 
power of liquor. In his '* Platform Echoes," he gives 
the following: ** A woman went to a public-house door, 
ragged and wretched, her thin gown draggled with dirt ; 
two children w^ere by her side, holding her dress. She 
stood at the door. A man came out. She said, ' Jem, is 
my John in there? ' ' Yes, ma'am.' ^ Tell him I want to 
see him.' He camie out — an Englishman. 'What do 
you want? ' ' I want you to come home ; the fire is out, 
we have no candle, we have not a bit of bread, and the 
children are crying because they are hungry.' What did 
this husband and father do ? He struck the poor, wan 
creature a fearful blow in the mouth, and sent her reeling 
into the gutter; and, shaking his silver in his pocket, 
went into the pubHc-house to enjoy himself again. The 
poor wife staggered up, and with her children passed 
down the street. Is that characteristic of an English- 
man ? Show me an Englishman, or any other man in a 
civilized country, who, apart from drink, will do that, and 
I will show you a mean, contemptible coward and monster. ' ' 

Gough gives another case: ''A man went home 
drunk. A little child, two years old, was crying. He 
said : ' Stop your crying. ' The little creature only knew 
that she w^as frightened, and she cried on. What did the 
father do ? Took up that baby, his own little girl, two 
years old, and laid it on the fire. Can you show me a 
man in the world who would be guilty of such brutality as 
that, except when he was drunk ? A lunatic w^ould 
scarcely do it. It is only the madness caused by drink that 
causes such results." 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 23 

These are not far-fetched cases. Our daily journals 
are full of them. Everyday and every hour of the year 
chronicles some terrible calamity or crime brought on by 
the maddening influence of Satan's own beverage. It has 
given us an army of tipplers, who, with blood-shot eyes 
and stammering speech, are reeling down the broad ave- 
nues of destruction ; and be it known to-day, Oh, Amer- 
ica! that this army will drag our nation with it, unless we 
quickly loose ourselves from its drunken grasp. Be it 
known to-day, far and near, that we must down Baccha- 
nalianism, or Bacchanalianism will down us ! Prince Leo- 
pold, Duke of Albany, called drink the only terrible 
enemy England had to fear. What is true of our mother 
country, in this respect, is true of us. '^ While drinking 
continues," said Mr. Livesey, as long ago as 1831, '* pov- 
erty and vice will prevail ; and until this is abandoned, no 
regulations, no efforts, no authority under heaven, can 
raise the condition of the w^orking classes. It is worse 
than a plague or pestilence, and the man is no friend of 
his country who does not lift up his voice and proclaim 
his example against it." 

Drunkenness has been condemned as a sin, a crime, 
from time immemorial, by both the highest authorities of 
heaven and earth. Hear the Creator, through the great 
apostle to the Gentiles, in I. Corinthians vi. 9-10: 
*' Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, 
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers 
of themselves with mankind, nor covetous, nor drunkards, 
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom 
of God." Hear again the Great Maker, through the w^ise 
man, Solomon: '* Be not among wine-bibbers, among 
riotous eaters of flesh ; for the drunkard and the glutton 
shall come to poverty." And again, in the writings of 



24 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Moses, we find that the stubborn son of an Israelite was 
to be stoned to death for disobedience to parents, glut- 
tony, and di'iinkenncss^ Isaiah, in his matchless book of 
prophecy, pronounces the severest woes upon Ephraim 
for her wine-bibbing and drunkenness, f The prophet Na- 
hum also condemned these evils. In his burden to Nin- 
eveh he says: "For while they be folden together as 
thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they 
shall be devoured as stubble full dry." Thus, truly, have 
the great nations of time suffered. Babylon, led on by 
the passionate Belshazzar, was overthrown during the 
progress of one of the greatest drunken revels of history. 
The fall of Carthage and Rome may be attributed largely 
to the insobriety and consequent carelessness and weak- 
ness of their soldiery. The warriors of Napoleon spent 
the night before Waterloo with fair women and sparkling 
wine. And the battle of Hastings was lost to the Anglo- 
Saxons by their own folly in spending the night before 
the conflict in drinking and revelling, while the Normans 
engaged in fasting and prayer. Liquor has ever been the 
patron saint of disappointment and ruin. His presence 
bodes no good in any enterprise. Strong drink is the tool 
of Satan, and woe be to the man or nation who falls under 
its hell-sharpened edge. 

Axel Gustafson, of London, that great authority on 
the drink question, says that "ancient legal and histori- 
cal writings are replete with edicts and instances showing 
that drunkenness was treated as a great crime." He cites 
us to the writings of Zenophon, Plato, Atheucneus, Plutarch, 
Pliny, Dion of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, and 
others. Intoxication has always been regarded as brutish, 
and no man of reason and heart should lend his influence 
to the m.anufacture and sale of strong drink. It may do 

- Deut. xxi. 18-21. t Isa. xxxviii. 1-7. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 2$ 

to ta/k about moderation, and temperate drinking. But 
Oh, my brother ! if you are wise you will rather say, 
"Touch not, taste not, handle not." So long as liquor 
is made for a beverage, just so long will it be consumed, 
and so long shall the laws of God and man be violated^ 
good taste outraged, and moral principle blunted. Nay ! 
so long as the liquor business is permitted, just so long 
shall all crime be continued, and the prospects of immor- 
tal souls for eternal blessedness forever blighted. We 
read in God's Book that '' there shall in no wise enter into 
heaven anything that defileth, neither whatsoever work- 
eth abomination, or maketh a lie."''^ Bacchanalianism de- 
files. Bacchanalianism works continual abomination. 
Bacchanalianism deceives, disheartens, damns ! 

In 1868, it was estimated, by competent authorities, 
according to Gustafson, that in England nine- tenths of the 
paupers (of whom, according to Hoyle, there were three 
and a half millions in 1881), three-fourths of the criminals, 
one-half of the diseases, one-third the insanity, three- 
fourths of the depravity of children and young people, 
and one-third of the ship wrecks, were brought about by 
strong drink. In America, the percentage may not be 
quite so appalling, but it is still enough to arouse every 
thinking citizen to an appreciative sense of our awful dan- 
ger. The frightful number of suicides in America ; the 
rapidly growing army of lunatics ; and the vast hordes 
crowding our jails and penitentiaries, poor houses, and 
reform schools, may be attributed principally to our Bac- 
chanalianism. It is now generally admitted that the tip- 
plers^of America pay our tippler-makers ;^900,ooo,ooo an- 
nually for drinks. We spend ;^50o,ooo,ooo annually for 
bread, and ;$300, 000,000 for meat. Think of it! More 
money for drinks in this Christian nation than for bread and 

■■'• Rev. xxi. 27. 



26 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

meat. We spend three and a half miUionsfor foreign mis- 
sions. One authority says that ^'what has been spent for 
foreign missions in seventy years would not pay the liquor 
bill of the United States for thirty days," We talk much 
now-a-days about the importance of various social and eco- 
nomic questions. Vv'e watch eagerly the passes between 
labor and capital. But, Oh, why will not Americans see 
that the chaining of the drink demon would solve the vast 
majority of these questions within six months! We talk 
about hard times, closing our eyes to the fact that if the 
;^900, 000,000 annually spent in this country for that which 
impoverishes, were spent for food and raiment, for books 
and art, for schools and religion, our people would speed- 
ily be lifted a thousand marks higher upon the scale of 
prosperity, peace, and happiness. 

The use of strong drink is condemned, according to 
Parsons, by over five thousand medical men in our land. 
They have come forward and given their testimony 
against it. Only a few out of one hundred thousand cler- 
gymen in our land favor the curse. Our teachers are, al- 
m.ost to a man, against it. And yet the pernicious busi- 
ness goes on. Why, Oh, why is it so ? 

The first and chief reason, perhaps, is that human be- 
ings are, and ever have been, lustful, passionate, glutton- 
ous. Men drink because their bellies crave 'the poison. 
Not because it is ennobling. Not because it makes the 
man better. But because it satisfies a depraved appetite. 
It is never God-like to drink, but always demon-like. 
Drink charms. It intoxicates. It drowns sorrow only to 
create bitter despondency. It coils its smooth but slimy 
lengths about the form, and, choking out the life, sends a 
soul-stained, ruined, lost, into an unpromising eternity. Oh, 
God, pity the poor victim of strong drink ! Heav^en save 
from this awful fascination ! 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 2/ 

Another cause is that the government desires the reve- 
nues flowing into its coffers from the business. Our leg- 
islators, many of them drinking men themselves, refuse to 
see the immeasureable evils resulting from the use of 
liquor. They do not regard its use as wrong. They 
act upon the basis that every man is accountable to him- 
self alone if he allows the demon to ruin him. And so we 
have law^s that not only countenance but encourage the 
business. Consequently the liquor power of America is 
most formidable. The liquor men buy our statesmen. They 
capture the councils of our cities. They bribe our judges. 
They defy opposition. And all this in a Christian nation! 
Again, our aristocracy is frequently much given to 
wine. The cellars of the rich are filled with choice 
brands of the stuff, and it is drawn forth with no little dis- 
play at balls and dinners. Witness the disgraceful and 
disgusting happenings at the recent Centennial Ball at the 
Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. It was boasted 
that only the most cultured, distinguished, and wealthy 
should be privileged to enjoy the gayeties of that occa- 
sion. It broke up in a drunken service to the god Bac- 
chus. And it has not been long since a member of Con- 
gress outraged all decency by staggering drunk into the 
halls of legislation. Yet, in the face of all this, we have 
here and there a clergyman (be it said to their everlasting 
shame), who will stand up and favor the licensing of grog 
shops ! And Christian men, good, earnest, but blinded 
Christian men, will vote for candidates and parties that 
favor the perpetuation of the drink traffic ! Is it any won- 
der that the terrible work go^s on ? Oh, that America 
might awake from her lethargy on this subject ! Oh, that 
there might be such an agitation on this question, reach- 
ing from ocean to ocean, as would stir our nation to its 
depths, and cause our noble sons and daughters of free- 



28 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

dom to rise up as one mighty Hercules and slay this hid- 
eous serpent ! 

But how shall it be done ? What shall we do with 
our tipplers and tippler-makers? 

In the first place, let us educate. Let us lift the 
people higher in the appreciation of that which is good, 
beautiful and true. "To educate," says Channing, *'is 
something more than to teach those elements of knowl- 
edge which are needed to get a subsistence. It is to exer- 
cise and call out the higher faculties and affections of a 
human being. Education is not the authoritative, com- 
pulsory, mechanical training of passive pupils, but ihe in- 
fluence ol gifted and quickening minds on the spirits of 
the young. Of what use, let me ask, is the wealth of this 
community but to train up a better generation than'our- 
selves? Of what use is freedom, I ask, except to call 
forth the best powers of all classes and every idividual ? 
What but human improvement is the great end of 
society?" Let us educate our nation on the temperance 
question. Let us diffuse knowledge on the evils and 
awful consequences of the use of strong drink. Let us 
fire our people with a consuming zeal for greater purity, 
greater consistency, and greater felicity. Then shall 
America rise up and crush the drink dragon. Not before. 
Zschokke says that ''all laws are powerless for extinguish- 
ing an evil which has taken root in the life of the people; 
it is from the people itself that the reform of morals must 
proceed, but no government is strong enough to bring it 
about." Our people must demand, with heart and voice, 
the overthrow of the liquor business before the liquor 
business will mov^e one inch. We urge, therefore, a 
thorough educatit)n of the people of America on Bac- 
chanalianism. Ihen shall tipplers be ostracised from the 
best society, and tippler-makers shall be dethroned from 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 2g 

their blood blocks. Then shall poverty and crime almost 
wholly cease. Then shall hard times be practically un- 
known. Then shall America be preeminently a nation of 
happy homes. 

In this connection let us congratulate those States 
where the teaching of the effects of alcohol is made com- 
pulsory in the public schools. May this good work go on. 
Let us also congratulate our nation on the mighty work 
being done by temperance women — women who, like 
Frances E. Willard, Julia Ward Howe, Harriet Beecher 
Stowe, and a hundred others, have been working and 
praying for the right against the wrong, for the false 
against the true. Let us thank God, too, for such 
men as Wendell Phillips, John B. Gough, Francis Mur- 
phy, and a hundred others ; men who. have given them- 
selves in one of the most glorious campaigns in all his- 
tory, this campaign of the home against the saloon. Let us 
again rejoice that several of our most prosperous States 
have already tried the prohibition of the drink business, 
and have found it a glorious thing. All honor to those 
States that are to-day training up a generation of boys and 
girls who do not know the dreadful meaning of the word 
** saloon." Now let all this good work go on with yet in- 
creasing power. And, Oh, Christian men and women of 
America ! Let us vote as we pray ! Let us shoot as w^e 
aim. Down with political preferences and mere partisan- 
ship. We can not expect much from parties owned and 
controlled by the rum power. Let the temperance people of 
America, five millions strong, march ont to the field of battle in 
solid phalanx, under a banner of their own — a clean, white 
banner — and Bacchanalianism zuill be routed, hip and thigh, 
from the face of our matcJiless domain. Oh, come out, and 
be ye separate, ye Christians, and ye temperance people. 
Do not claim to be what your votes say you are not. 



30 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Come out and fight for God, home and native land. We 
must free our country from this dreadful malady — from 
this curse of curses. Then indeed shall ''bells in un- 
builded spires, and voices in unborn choirs,'* bless God 
for the work of our hands. 

No! America shall not die drunk. She shall cleanse 
herself and live. She shall look to Christ and rejoice. 
America shall pity her drink-cursed children. She shall 
lend a hand to their salvation. Then shall America — 
washed and redeemed — become a model to all the nations 
of earth. The morning dawns ! The day cometh ! Let 
us look to God with joyous thanksgiving ! 



A'^D THEIR REMEDIES. 3 1 



LECTURE III. 

America's Romanism ; or, Shall We Sell Our 
Birthright and Serve the Great Anti-Christ ? 

In beginning this study of Romanism in America, let 
us quote the words of one of America's warmest friends, 
the great Lafayette: '* If the Hberties of the American 
people are ever destroyed, they will fall by the hands of 
the Romish clergy.'* If the distinguished Frenchman 
could say so much one hundred years ago, what, let us 
imagine, would he say to-day, could he arise fromi his 
tomb and glance at the condition of things in the land he 
so nobly helped to free ? 

We are well aware that there is much timidity toward 
a discussion of this question. Many think it somewhat 
uncharitable. No wonder. The vast majority of Amer- 
ica's citizens have never inquired into the merits or de- 
inerits of the papal system. They do not know the real mo- 
tives of the genuine Romanist. They do not understand 
the tricks and intrigues of the terrible power which wears 
the august title of ** Holy Catholic Church." They say, 
Why, this is the home of religious freedom. Let the Ro- 
manist alone. He has as good a right to his honest con- 
victions as anybody ! Thus Romanism finds little oppo- 
sition, and, Satan-like, being given an inch, the pernicious 
system is rapidly taking a mile. It is now high time we 
have done with foolish sentiment and inexcusable blind- 
ness on this question. It needs discussion. It needs 
a rough handling. America's interests are great and 



32 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

precious, and that he is not a true patriot who will close his 
eyes and stop his ears, through imagined tolerance, w^hile 
the most intolerant of all systems in the world's history 
is rapidly closii^g in toward Washington. 

By Romanism we understand that mighty religio-sec- 
ular system which, for fifteen centuries, has been centered 
in the popes, cardinals, and bishops of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church. The city of Rome has been the seat of its 
government ; the pope the great heart of the corporation. 
It is a system nominally Christian, and yet it is the open 
and avowed enemy of all other Christian bodies, pro- 
nouncing all heretics who do not submit to its sway. It 
is confined to no particular nation, but has spread itself 
through all lands and among all civilized peoples. Its com- 
municants number nearly two hundred millions. These are 
not divided and subdivided and placed under an independ- 
ent leadership, but are all thoroughly organized as one 
body and under one ruler, the pope. This dignitary is 
regarded as the viceroy of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
legitimate successor of the holy apostles. He claims per- 
fect infallibility, and also his inalienable right to reign 
over all earthly principalities and powers. And these 
claims are established whenever and wherever it is possi- 
ble for him to gain such supremacy. In America the 
pope is by no means supreme. Yet his influence has 
been gradually widening and deepening ever since the for- 
mation of our republic. It seems only a question of time, 
if we allow his strength to keep on increasing, when he 
shall succeed in seriously injuring, if not in completely 
overthrowing, our liberties and our laws. 

The history of Romanism is a history of blood. Well 
did the apostle Paul, in prophetic speech, call it the 
*'man of sin." Well does John, in Revelation, de- 
scribe the hideous system by the term '* beast." Roman- 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 33 

ism has certainly proven itself to be the great anti-Christ, 
The devil has had no stronger ally during the past fifteen 
hundred years than the Roman Catholic Church. Satan 
has ever wanted to overthrow the Church of Christ. He 
fought it openly during the first centuries of its history. 
But when he found he could not attain to the end desired 
in this way, he put on the I garb of religion, joined the 
church, and so succeeded in bringing about the the most 
gigantic corruption of the gospel since the days of the 
Nazarene. The papacy is responsible ' for the horrors of 
the '*Dark Ages." The papacy is responsible for the 
frightful inquisition of the middle centuries. The papacy 
is responsible largely for the vice and villainy, the igno- 
rance and degradation, the despondency and poverty with 
w^hich civilization has been cursed since the days of Con- 
stantine. If this harlot were guilty of nothing else but 
her martyrdom of the saints, that would be enough to 
condemn her forever. It is estimated by Dr. Edward 
Beecher that the Catholic Church has taken the lives of 
fifty millions ! And why ? Because these millions would 
not bow to the tyrannical will of the priests, cardinals and 
bishops of Romanism. Refusing to accept everything as 
infallible that came from these self-appointed high priests, 
a vast array of heroes have been declared heretics, and 
paid the penalty for their independence with their lives. 
Let us notice a single instance : 

John Huss, the preacher of Bethlehem Chapel, 
Prague, and dean of the theological faculty of the Univer- 
sity of Prague, was a man of wonderful talents and godli- 
ness. Concerning him his later enemies said: " Meanly 
born, but of no mean spirit, he was more acute than elo- 
quent; his modesty, self-denial, austerity, pale and thin 
face, sweet temper, gentleness to all, even the humblest, 
were of more force than words." For twelve years he 



34 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Stood in Bethlehem pulpit and preached to thousands. 
He condemned sin. He plead for the good. So long as 
he did not attack evil in high places he was popular with 
all. But when he said, as reported by Blackburn, ** I am 
drawn to Wyclif by the reputation he enjoys with the 
good, not the bad, priests at Oxford, and generally with 
the people. Covetous, pomp-loving, dissipated prelates 
and priests do not like him. I am attracted to his writ- 
ings, for all his efforts are to lead men back to the law of 
Christ," — when he spoke thus plainly, a bitter opposi- 
tion was speedily developed against him The priests of 
Romanism rose up and declared him " an incarnate devil 
— a heretic." He was at last brought before the Council 
of Constance, tried for heresy, and condemned to be 
burned. On July 6, 14 15 — his birthday — he was led forth 
to execution. They placed on his head a paper crown, 
on which were painted pictures of demons, together with 
this inscription : ''The arch heretic." They burned his 
books, and devoted his soul to the devils. They then 
bound him, hands and feet^ tied him to the stake, and 
piled about him a huge mass of wood and straw. Soon, 
then, his soul was in eternity. His body was burned to a 
crisp, and the ashes thrown into the Rhine. Before the 
fire was kindled Huss prayed and sang. *' Lord Jesus, " 
he cried, '* I shall endeavor to endure with humility this 
frightful death, which I am awarded for thy holy gospel ! 
Pardon all my enemies." 

This is but one among many of tens thousands of 
martyrdoms under the rule of Romanism. And why 
all this ? We repeat, because men would not yield in 
doctrine and life to all the demands of papal tyranny. 
Huss and the vast army of men, women and children who 
perished like him at the hands of papists, were too pure 
and good for this great anti-Christ. The Council of Con- 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 35 

stance, which condemned Huss, was composed of a 
mighty horde of lustful, pompous, tyrannical dignitaries. 
One authority states that there were fifteen hundred public 
women in attendance also ! Oh, Religion, what crimes 
have been committed in thy name ! Could the graves 
of Europe be opened, and the bones of buried martyrs 
speak ; could the waters of old ocean give back the dust 
of burned heroes; ah! could the catacombs and the in- 
quisition show forth their awful secrets to America — fair 
America — our people would rise up as one man, and with 
a voice like the thunders of the Mediterranean, exclaim, 
Down, forever down, with this beast of Rome ! 

But it may be suggested here that Romanism is not 
the monster it once was ; that the policy of the pope has 
changed during the past few centuries ; and that we, as 
a nation, have nothing to fear from the friendly over- 
tures of the '' Holy Father." Would that it were even 
so ! But we can not but believe the devil is still 
devil. The tactics of anti-Christ may have been changed, 
but the motives remain the same. As stated before, the 
pope claims the right to rule over all earthly governments. 
This right he has ever exercised when possible. In 
Europe he has lost much of his power, and is still losing 
every day. But what he is losing in home countries he 
is trying to regain in America. ''Half a century ago," 
says Strong, ''Gregory XVI., who held that the ' salva- 
tion of the church would come from America,' said, 'Out 
of the Roman States there is no country where I am pope, 
except the United States.' " 

As American citizens, we believe in liberty of con- 
science. Our Constitution guarantees us this prerogative. 
Yet the moment we bow to Romanism, that liberty is sur- 
rendered forever. On this point let us quote further from 
Strong: "Pope Pius IX., in his Encyclical Letter, of 



36 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

August 15, 1854, said: * The absurd and erroneous doc- 
trines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a 
most pestilential error — a pest, of all others, most to be 
dreaded in a State.' The same pope, in his Encyclical 
Letter, of December 8, 1864, anathematized * those who 
assert the liberty of conscience and religious worship ; ' 
also, ' all such as maintain that the church may not em- 
ploy force ' The pacific tone of Rome in the United 
States does not imply a change of heart. She is tolerant 
where she is helpless. Says Bishop O'Conner: 'Relig- 
ious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be 
carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.' 
The Catholic Reviciv says: * Protestantism, of every form, 
has not, and can never have, any right where Cath- 
olicity is triumphant.' " Do not these cool statements, 
together with many others of similar import, give 
us reason to believe that Romanism is aiming a 
death blow at the dearest principle of our beloved govern- 
ment ? It seems almost enough to cause the Pilgrim Fa- 
thers to turn in their graves. The one essential princi- 
ple of our national life is religious freedom. For this our 
forefathers crossed the stormy ocean and faced the trials of 
pioneer life. For this they fought and bled in a long and 
hazardous revolution. For this the greatest statesmen of 
the age plead and labored. Religions freedom is the birth- 
right of every American, Shall we sell it for a mere mess 
of pottage to the Roman Catholic heirarchy, and then bow 
down before the heartless rule of the great anti-Christ? 
No, a thousand times no ! We shall not suffer the pope to 
bind to the stake this precious prerogative ! We must not 
barter away this, the richest legacy ever bestowed upon any 
earthly power ! But here comes The Rambler^ a Roman- 
ist paper of London, and says, viciously, that ' * religious 
liberty, in the sense of a liberty possessed by every man 



AMD THEIR REMIDIES. ' 37 

to choose his religion, is one of the most wicked delusions 
ever foisted upon this age by the father of all deceit. The 
very name of liberty — except in the sense of permission 
to do certain definite acts — ought to be banished from the 
domain of religion. It is nothing more nor less than false- 
hood. No man has a right to choose his religion. None 
but an atheist can uphold the principles of religious lib- 
erty. Shall I foster that damnable*doctrine, that S:>cian- 
ism, and Calvinism, and Anglicanism, and Judaism, are 
not every one of them mortal sins, like murder and 
adultery ? Shall I hold out hopes to my erring Protest- 
ant brother, that I will not meddle with his creed if he 
will not meddle with mine? Shall I tempt him to forget 
that he has no more right to his religious views than he 
has to my purse, to my house, or to my life blood ? No ! 
Catholicism is the most intolerant of creeds. It is intoler- 
ance itself; for it is the truth itself." And yet we have not 
a few clergymen in America who will stand quietly, and, 
we fear, cowardly by and raise no hand of defense, lift no 
word of warning. On the other hand, they often fawn 
upon the beast. They say. What a noble work the great 
Catholic Church is doing in our country ! Oh, blinded, 
hood-winked, foolish brother ; better say. What a damna- 
ble scheme this blood-thirsty, liberty-hating, soul-cursing 
** man of sin " is trying to carry out in this glorious land of 
freedom ! We would not be understood as indicting all 
these severe charges against individual Catholics. Indeed, 
we believe there are many noble men and women who are 
sacrificing their lives in the service of the church and human- 
ity. But this does not alter the case at all with reference to 
the character and tendency of the system. It is evil, wholly 
evil. It may be suggested here that Romanists are active 
and industrious in their church work, to say the least. 
Granted. So is the devil ! 



38 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Another precious element in our American independ- 
ence is the Hberty of press and speech. We boast of this. 
We pity the countries where this privilege is not inalien- 
able. Yet, dear as is this right to every American, Roman- 
ism would wrest it from us, and prostitute it to the ser- 
vice of the papacy. In one of his Encyclical Letters, Pope 
Pius IX. anathematized *'all who maintain the liberty of 
the press; " also, **all advocates of the liberty of speech." 
In the face of all this, how inconsistent, how unbecoming, 
for any true citizen and patriot of our beloved republic to 
stand up and favor the cunning overtures of the pope 
toward America. A'^o man can he a trne Catholic and true 
American at the saine time. This is plain language, but 
true. The principles of Romanism and Catholicism are 
entirely different from each other. They can never be 
harmonized without one or the other giving up all that is 
vital in its opponent. A Romanist may comply with the 
laws of our country and become a naturalized citizen. 
But if he be a true Romanist his oath of allegiance is not 
worth the paper on which it is written. He is still a papist, 
and all his efforts must be toward the progress and final 
triumph of the papacy. 

Again, we pride ourselves in the most perfect system 
of public schools in the world. Our public schools are 
the training grounds of our standing army — the best 
standing army of any nation on earth — an army of educa- 
ted, patriotic, nobly-developed men and women. Well 
has one writer called our public school teachers "the 
arbiters of our destiny, the assurance of our prosperity." 
But what of the attitude of Rome on this point? Hear 
the Vicar General of Boston, in a public lecture delivered 
a few years since (as quoted by Strong) : '* The attitude 
of the Catholic Church toward the public schools of this 
country, as far as we can determine from papal documents, 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 39 

the decrees of the Council of Baltimore, and the pastorals 
of the several bishops, is one of non-approval of the sys- 
tem itself, of censure of the manner of conducting them 
that prevails in most places, and of solemn admonition to 
pastors and parents to guard against the dangers to faith 
and morals arising from frequenting them. " And the Cath- 
olic Telegraph, of Cincinnati, declares that " it will be a glo- 
rious day for the Catholics in this country when, under 
the blows of justice and morality, our school system shall 
be shivered to pieces." Do such statements as these, 
corning as they do from high Roman authority, warrant 
us as American citizens in being sentimental and vainly 
tolerant ? What is the history of Romanism, with refer- 
ence to educating the masses ? Has not the papal power 
ever labored to keep the people in ignorance ? The more 
ignorant the nation, the more susceptible it is to Catholic 
influences. Witness Italy, where it is estimated that over 
seventy per cent, of the population are illiterate. Witness 
Mexico, where over ninety per cent, are in the same con- 
dition. In Spain the dense ignorance of the masses is 
almost as noticeable. In all these countries the pope has 
almost full sway. Why does he not educate and lift up 
the masses ? Because it is against the policy of the 
church, and has been since its foundation. True, in Prot- 
estant countries, like our own, the church opens schools 
and makes a great display. This has to be done, or the 
American people w^ould frown Catholicism out of the 
land. The pope is not a fool. He understands the rules 
of war. But let anti-Christ once gain supremacy in 
America, and our boasted civilization would be crippled 
forever. Romanism is unfriendly to education. Above 
all is the church unfriendly to a dissemination of knowl- 
edge regarding her own past history, at least with refer- 
erence to some questionable points. Witness the recent 



40 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

suppression of a certain text book used in the public 
schools of Boston — suppressed by a Romanistic board, 
because it presented the historical fact that the church in 
the days of Luther had encouraged the sale of indulgences 
— a fact that any decent religionist might well look upon 
with shame. 

Roman Catholicism would grind down its subjects 
with the iron heel of ignorance. It would stifle con- 
science. It would debase reason. Cardinal Manning is 
reported to have given utterance to the following : '' We 
declare, affirm, define, and pronounce it to be necessary 
to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the 
•Roman pontiff " Jehovah said: "Thou shalt have no 
other god before me." Which shall we acknowledge, 
oh, Americans, the Lord of Heaven, or the pope of Rome? 

The Catholic Church makes great pretensions to pur- 
ity and Christ-]ike consecration, and we would not deny 
that, in many of its adherents, this claim can be vin- 
dicated. But the testimonies of history, the confessions 
of ex-priests, and the observations of close students, war- 
rant us in believing that a large majority of its priests and 
dignitaries are vile hypocrites — lustful, adulterous, un- 
clean vipers. Out upon such arrogance ! ' Down with 
such hypocrisy! Oh, shame that such wickedness should 
be called Christianity, and that such ghastly inconsistency 
should be shielded by the sign of the cross ! 

We should be alarmed because Romanism, in Amer- 
ica is growing stronger every hour. The mighty influx 
of foreigners, and the remarkable shrewdness of bishops 
and priests, in gaining control of property and pushing 
the work in new fields, is rapidly making the Catholic 
power one of our most threatening evils. It is estimated 
that, during the thirty years preceding 1880, the Catholic 
churches of America increased nearly 450 per cent. We 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 4I 

have now about seven million Romanists in our coun- 
try. These are principally congregated in our larger 
cities. Here they frequently control our elections. Here 
they secure property, and build great cathedrals and 
schools, which operate powerfully in promulgating their 
strength. Here the}^ enter politics without heart and 
without conscience, determined only, by fair means or 
foul, to advance the interests of Romanism. Dr. Strong 
makes this startling statement : '' During the eleven years 
preceding 1880, the authorities of New^ York City gave 
to the Roman Catholic Church real estate valued at ;^3,- 
500,000, and money to the amount of 1^5,827,471 ; this in 
exchange for Romish votes, and every cent of it paid in 
violation of law." He also quotes a few predictions from 
distinguished Romanists : 

Father Heckersays: *' There is, ere long, to be a State 
religion in this country, and that State religion is to be 
Roman Catholic." 

The Boston Pilot says: " The man is living to-day who 
will see a majority of the American Continent Roman 
Catholic." A former bishop of Cincinnati says : '' Effec- 
tual plans are in opei:ation to give us the complete victory 
over Protestantism.'^ ^ Dr. Warner, of California, says: 
''The Roman Catholic power is fast becoming an over- 
whelming evil. Their schools are everywhere, and num- 
ber probably two hundred in the State. Their new col- 

* Wm. E, Gladstone, the greatest living statesman, declares that " no more cun- 
ning plot was ever devised against the intelligence, the freedom, the happiness and 
virtue of mankind, than Romanism." Father Chiniquy, in his startling work, " Fifty 
Years in the Church of Rome," shows conclusively that the assassination of Abraham 
Lincoln, at the hands of Wilkes Booth, who was himself a Roman Catholic, was the 
result of a bitter Romanistic hatred. The same authority declares further that " with- 
out Romanism, the last awful civil war would have been impossible." And, referring 
to the code of Gregory VII. , he predicts that " in the very near future, if God does not 
miraculously prevent it, those laws of dark deeds and blood will cause the prosperity, 
the rights, the education, and liberties of this too confident nation to be buried under a 
mountain of smoking and bloody ruin. On the top of that mountain Rome will raise 
her throne and plant her victorious banners." 



42 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

lege, of St. Ignatius, is, we are told, the largest, finest, best 
equipped of its kind in the United States. They blow no 
trumpets, are sparing with statistics, but are at work 
night and day to break down the institutions of the coun- 
try, beginning with the public schools. As surely as we 
live, so surely will the conflict come, and it will be a hard 
one." Yes, indeed, the lines are rapidly being formed, 
and the hosts must soon meet upon the plains of Arma- 
geddon. Rome is bidding for our birthright. Anti- 
Christ is declaring that we must serve him. Shall we 
yield ? Shall we give up all that has made America what 
she is to-day? Shall we pull down the stars and stripes of 
our liberty, and let the pope put up the significant cardi- 
nal of the papacy ? What shall we do ? 

The first thing that can be done is, as with all other 
evils, to teach the masses the real character of the evil. 
Let the Protestants of America, ministers and laymen, 
men and women, old and young, be awakened to a 
knowledge of the real purposes and intents of Roman- 
ism. Then shall our awful dangers from this source be per- 
ceived. Then shall we have less sentimentality and more 
practicality on this subject. Then shall we be ready to 
deal a blow to Romanism wherever it may show its face. 
The struggle is coming. It may be with fire and sword. 
It may be with mind and heart. It may be here or there. 
No man can be definite on these points. But coming the 
great struggle between the hosts of Satan and the hosts 
of Christ surely is. We shall soon hear the shouts 
and see the charges of the long-looked-for Armageddon. 
It will be war to the knife. Are we ready for this ? We 
are if we are followers of the Great Captain who sits 
upon the "white horse" of Revelation. The Prince of 
Light shall lead our armies. The King of kings and Lord 
of lords, even Jesus the Christ, shall gain us the victory. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 43 

Put your trust in him, O America ! Worship him ! 
Cling to the good, abhor the evil ! Then shall Romanism, 
with all its beastly churchianity, be chained a thousand 
years ! Then shall Christ and Christianity hold sway from 
pole to pole ! So mote it be. 



44 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 



LECTURE IV. 

America's Mamnaonisni; or, Shall We Trust in God, 
or the Eagle ? 

** Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery. If riches 
increase, set not your heart upon them." — David. 

** A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving fa- 
vor rather than silver and gold." — SolomoiN. 

" Ye can not serve God and mammon." — Christ, 

" Mammon led them on, 
Mammon, the least erected spirit that fell 
From Heaven." — Milton. 

America is the richest nation on the face of the globe. 
Though young in years, she has grown old in experience, 
accumulation, and influence. And yet we are safe in say- 
ing that she has only begun the development of her phe- 
nomenal resources. Tens of millions of acres of our fertile 
soil are yet untilled. Hundreds of millions of feet of lum- 
ber in our great forests are yet uncut. And our rich 
mines, of almost every kind of mineral known to man, 
are as yet scarcely touched. There are no figures to 
measure accurately the resources of this country. We 
can gain only a tolerably appreciative idea of this subject 
from the wonderful developments already made, for these 
are but the opening swaths in the great harvest field be- 
fore us. America is rich, and growing richer every hour. 
Herein lies a danger of no small proportions. 

Eighteen hundred j'ears ago the great apostle to the 
gentiles said that ''they that will be rich fall into temp- 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 45 

tation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful 
lusts which droA^n men in destruction and perdition ; for 
the love of money is the root of all evil." What was 
true then of individuals, is true of us to-day as a nation. 
With the American people the love of the '' almighty dol- 
lar " is the root of nearly all our evils. Mammon has be- 
come a god of mighty influence with vast numbers of our 
people. His influence extends even into the sacred pre- 
cincts of our churches. He numbers thousands of vota- 
ries among those who profess to be servants of the Most 
High God, but whose actions in toiling and striving, and 
scheming and sweating after money, belie their words of 
profession. A greed for gain is indeed one of our most 
besetting sins. 

" Gold, gold, gold, gold, 
Bright and yellow, hard and cold. 
Molten, graven, hammered and rolled ; 
Heavy to get, and light to hold ; 
Hoarded, bartered, bought and sold ; 
Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled ; 
Spurned by the young, but hugged by the old 
To the very verge of the church-yard mold ; 
Price of many a crime untold — 
Gold, gold, gold, gold ! " 

In all Hood's writings there is, perhaps, nothing that 
can be more fittingly applied to America than this. Our 
people are characterized with an all-consuming passion 
for gold. And just as true as we are a living nation 
to-day, we will be a ruined one before many to-morrows, 
unless we manage to master this passion. Great wealth 
is too often the mother of luxuriousness ; and luxurious- 
ness is the parent of enervation, corruption and decay. 
Witness the nations of history. Israel did not begin her 
decline while poor, but when she had reached the height of 
her temporal splendor. This was during Solomon's reign. 



46 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

So rich and so luxurious was the nation, that the citizens 
of Jerusalem placed no more value upon silver than upon 
stones. Israel was the marvel of the age, and all nations 
paid homage to her mighty king. But all this glory bred 
discontent and. final destruction. Even so with Babylon, 
with Rome, and with Spain. Great wealth creates a pride 
that always precedes destruction. Poverty never killed a 
nation ; riches have killed many. Bancroft says that 
'' sedition is bred in the lap of luxury." Already there 
are signs, larger than a man's hand, of a terrific sedition 
in America, unless something shall be done to check the 
ravages of the money-god, which permits a few favored 
pets of fortune to devour the fat of the land, while the 
masses live on from hand to mouthy with but doubtful 
prospects of anything better. Livy declares that ** avar- 
ice and luxury have been the ruin of every great State." 
Need we expect that this rule of history will be reversed 
for our special benefit ? Ought we to fly in the face of all 
warning, and vainly imagine that everything will turn 
out all right with us in the future, simply because it has 
in the past? There seems to be a wide-spread im- 
pression that ^' God takes care of children, fools, and the 
United States." But such an impression is, of itself, 
simply child-like and foolish, to say the least. Sentiment 
is a good thing in its place ; but sentiment alone is a poor 
foundation upon which to rest a nation's welfare. Amer- 
ica is young yet, and like many young people, is putting 
in a large crop of '* wild oats." But oh ! what will the 
harvest be ? We do not have to grow old to decay. Our 
own Charles Sumner once said that ''nations have de- 
cayed, but it has never been with the imbecility of age." 
Paul was addressing a young man when he said, ''They 
that will be rich fall into temptation." It is well known 
that many a young man, born with a " silver spoon in his 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 47 

mouth," is practically useless to his day and generation, 
because he ''falls into many foolish and hurtful lusts," 
and ''wastes his substance in riotous living." Again, 
many middle-aged men who, by "luck," become sud- 
denly rich, are plunged into perdition from a prodigal use 
of their gains. When Mammon once gains a place in the 
affections it requires a mighty struggle to dislodge him. 
It is painfully evident to-day that Mammon is wooing our 
fair America. Shall we, oh, dare we, allow him, to 
win her? 

When the Pilgrim Fathers came over in the May- 
flower they brought very little of this world's goods with 
them. Our forefathers were not the offspring of luxury ; 
they were not pampered sons of Dives. But they were 
hard-working, horny-handed sons of toil. The wolf often 
came painfully near the door of our country in the early 
decades of our history. But as " necessity is the mother 
of invention," poverty is the parent of industry, hardi- 
hood, and progress. Hence America was not slow in 
gaining a competence, and in laying by in store. Our 
forefathers had no respect for Mammon. They left him 
on the other side of the Atlantic. They engraved on their 
coins the beautifully significant expression, " In God we 
trust. " They also gave place to the eagle, as much as to say, 
By means of this God-given power, money, we will mount up 
to superior heights of wisdom, happiness and usefulness. 
Blessed prospect, and how gloriously has it been realized ! 
But alas ! we were not to be let alone. Mammon, that cun- 
ning old god, the same that left his ruinous foot-prints upon 
the pages of the histories of so many fallen nations — 
Mammon, that bright and shining, but wofully deceitful 
god, came over to our inviting shores and opened up a per- 
manent trade. He has gradually but surely stolen into 
the hearts of millions, till now it is a serious question 



48 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

which we worship, the God our fathers trusted, or the 
eagle our hands have made. Ah ! it is enough to make 
us exclaim w^ith Goethe : 

" Cursed Mammon be, when he with treasures 
To restless action spurs our fate ! 
Cursed when for soft, indulgent leisures, 
He lays for us the pillows straight." 

Mammon makes men ignore the claims of God. Mam- 
mon fosters the spirit of materialism. Mammon hardens 
the heart, stifles the conscience, damns the soul. Mam- 
mon fosters all other evils. This is true with reference to 
individuals ; it is true with reference to nations and cor- 
porations. So much so has this become with America 
that the motto engraven on our coins seems to the student 
almost a misnomer. If there has ever been a nation since the 
days of Israel that has enjoyed the special providences of 
God, this is the nationo In days of peace the bright cloud- 
pillar of progress and boundless prosperity has ever gone 
before us. In the night-time of national trial the fire- 
pillar of victory has never forsaken us. Our land has ever 
flowed with milk and honey. In view of all this it is a 
poor time now to forsake the God of Moses, and bow 
down to a golden image. And yet this is practically 
what our nation is doing to-day. In proof of this asser- 
tion let us notice a few instances of mammon worship. 

We have about two hundred thousand persons engaged 
in the manufacture and sale of liquor in our country. 
Liquor causes nine-tenths of our crime and pauperism. It 
destroys annually seventy thousand lives. It causes multi- 
plied thousands of widows and orphans, making them out- 
casts of society, and filling their lives with shame and sor- 
row. Why do they do it ? Oh, why do men engage in this 
nefarious business ? Listen, Americans. Tliey do it fo7' 
the money thei^e is in it. Our distillers and saloon keepers 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 49 

grow rich and fat off the hard-earned silver of day-labor- 
ers. They dwell in swell-front houses, and their wives 
dress in the finest silks. What care they for God ? Mam- 
mon is their deity, for there is money in it. 

We have, in this country, a great and growing aristoc- 
racy. It is not an aristocracy of blood. We do not believe 
in that in America. It is not an aristocracy of intellectual 
superiority. For many of our aristocrats can not read nor 
spell with any degree of decency. It is not an aristocracy 
of unusual spirituality. For not a few of our aristocrats are 
boastful, blasphemous, sensuous sceptics. Then what is 
it? It is an aristocracy of wealth ; it is a brood of mam- 
mon worshipers. A man is successful in speculating on 
the board of trade ; he makes a cool million dollars in a 
few sharp deals. Immediately he is admitted into ** soci- 
ety,'* and nothing is too good for his enjoyment. A man 
engages in manufacturing; by hard work and long years 
of application he grows rich. Why is he not then con- 
tent ? No ; he wants to be richer. He forms a compact 
or '' trust," with other manufacturers. A mill or two is 
shut down, and a thousand skilled workmen are thrown 
out of employment. The price of the articles manufac- 
tured is thus greatly increased, and the capitalist doubles 
his millions. He then pays a few paltry thousands into 
the coffers of some political party, makes a few so-called 
speeches in which he says some soft and oily words, and 
the people send him to Congress, and call him ** Hon- 
orable." 

Again, a man accidentally discovers an oil well or sil- 
ver mine Poor and ignorant one day, he becomes rich 
and aristocratic the next. He has the wealth of a Croe- 
sus, but the refinement of a hog. Matthew Arnold, 
in speaking of Chicago, said the city was "too beastly 
prosperous." He doubtless spoke more truthfully than he 



50 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

knew. A man who can sell salt pork successfully now-a- 
days, or carry on a large business in oleomargarine, is fre- 
quently more aristocratic and more popular in *' society" 
than the most highly educated and morally respectable of 
poor teachers, clergymen and other professional and labor- 
ing men. It is related of one of our aristocrats, who, though 
very ignorant, had suddenly become very wealthy from 
the discovery of an oil well, that he sent his daughter to 
a distinguished professor of music, being very desirous 
that she should become proficient in the ''divine art.'' 
But the poor young lady had no talent for music, and 
after a thorough trial, the professor was compelled to send* 
her home. The father called on the instructor, and, 
rather excitedly, demanded an explanation. The profes- 
sor was, of course, rather loath to state the exact reasons 
to the hopeful father, but upon being pressed to do so, 
finally said : ''The truth is, sir, that your daughter has 
no capacity for music." "Well, how much is one, pro- 
fessor?" said the aristocrat, proudly, running his hand 
into his well-stuffed pocket ; "just name the price, and 
ril buy her one ! " 

America's aristocracy, almost to a man, may be reck- 
oned among the most devoted of mammon worshipers. 
What matters it, though a man speculate upon millions of 
bushels of wheat that God's soil will never produce ? If 
he makes enough by it he will be popular. What matters it, 
though a man waters stocks and inflates real values a thou- 
sand per cent? If he makes money by it the people will 
account him shrewd, and a good fellow after all. What 
matters it, though a man put sand in sugar, water in 
milk, cheap lard in butter, and generally practices all 
kinds of deceit by way of adulteration? If he makes 
money by it, he will stand a good chance for some office 
or distinguished position. We all know that there are 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 5 I 

many men who will practice misrepresentation to-day for 
a small gain. It is perfectly amazing to the looker-on, the 
amount of cunning deceit and heartless cheating that is 
going on in our Christian land under the name of ** busi- 
ness. " What does all this mean? It means that Ameri- 
cans are falling down before the image of the eagle, thus 
putting to shame the religion of God. Men will stand up 
in the prize ring and beat each other's bodies shamefully. 
What for? For money. Mr. Sullivan, of Boston, won 
;^20,ooo in this manner not long since; and he is very 
popular from ^ocean to ocean. Men will run gambling 
hells, where fortunes are wasted in a single night ; and 
brothels, where virtue — priceless legacy to every child of 
reason — • is blighted forever. What for ? All this for 
money. Our halls of legislation are filled with men who 
will do almost anything for money. It is said that when 
important legislation against Mormonism — that great can- 
cer that is now cut out, thank God — was pending, certain 
merchants in New York, that great center of mammon- 
ism, telegraphed certain members of Congress at Wash- 
ington : *' New York sold ;^ 13,000,000 worth of goods to 
Utah last year. Hands off ! " The two great political par- 
ties of our nation have been very nearly equal in strength 
for many years. When a contest for the presidency 
comes, everybody knows that money is to be used freely 
by both sides, in the purchase of votes in the doubtful dis- 
tricts. In the campaign of 1888, tens of thousands of dol- 
lars were spent in this kind of business, and it is even as- 
serted that the distinguished managers of one party paid 
two employes of the New York Voice a snug sum for steal- 
ing the mail list of that paper for party purposes. Oh, fel- 
low Americans ! what does all this mean in a Christian 
land — a land where we have one hundred thousand cler- 
gymen, and where the Bible is the great book of author- 



52 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

ity on all moral and religious questions? It simply means 
that we are not living up to our high professions ; that we 
are not using God's Book as a book of law^ at all ; that 
we are, indeed, not faithful to the Lord of Heaven ; but, 
as a nation, we are bowing down before the cunning old 
god of gold. We claim the protection and ask the bless- 
ing of the Almighty upon us, but turn right around and 
pay our sweetest respects to Mammon. Is this Christ- 
like, America ? Is this Bible-like, fond country ? No, 
no! The great Benjamin Franklin said: ''That nation 
which is not founded upon the Bible can not stand.'* 
Shall we hope to stand, when for mammon's sake we con- 
tinually trample under foot the statutes of the Lord ? To 
this query history answers. No. Likewise reason and bet- 
ter judgment. Yet the strife for money only goes on and 
on, waxing hotter and hotter at every turn. It would 
seem that our people have taken as a motto that couplet 
of Ben Jonson's : 

" Get money; still get money, boys, 
No matter by what means." 

But what can be done ? Mammonism is deeply rooted 
hi America. The eagle is reverently worshiped by vast 
multitudes of our citizens. How shall we turn their at- 
tention to the service of Jehovah ? 

In answering these questions, there are two or three 
strong passages in the laws of God that come to our re" 
membrance. And while we can not expect that all 
Americans will notice them studiously, we may reason- 
ably hope that those Americans especially who have 
•' been born again," in obedience to the words of Christ, 
will give these passages most reverent attention. 

The Great Master said: ''Ye can not serve God and 
aiammon." Such a service is an utter impossibility. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 53 

Many are attempting it nowadays ; but they are making mis- 
erable failures of it. Christ also said : *' Lay up for your- 
selves treasures in heaven. " This can not be done by devot- 
ing the whole of life to personal aggrandizement — striving 
year in and year out, by fair measures or foul, to enrich self 
in the things of this world. This is what many professing 
Christians in America are evidently trying to do. It is 
not Christ-worship. Such a course is no more nor less 
than mammon-worship. No cloak of profession will cover 
it from the all-seeing eye of God. No cries of **Lord, 
Lord ! " will save in the last day, for such souls will have 
no credit in the bank of eternity. Again, Paul, in one 
of his epistles to Christians, says : '' If ye then be risen 
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where 
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affec- 
tions on things above, not on things on the earth." Oh, 
would that this language might strike every disciple 
in America like a bolt of lightning, and, burning up the 
dross of temporal ambition and mere earthly desire, elec- 
trify the soul till the whole being would be pervaded 
with an all-consuming zeal for the redemption of men and 
the glory of God ! 

It is not wrong to make money and grow rich. It is 
wrong, however, to accumulate money merely for money's 
sake, and love riches more than Christ. Just here is 
where mammon enters and pollutes the heart. No Chris- 
tian should forget that he is ''not his own, but is bought 
with a price." That price was the blood of Jesus. We 
are sworn to the service of God forever when we acknowl* 
edge, by our obedience, the sovereignty of the Son of 
Mary. It is thenceforth not ''our land," " our money," 
" our houses and barns." It is all God's, and we are his 
stewards. He graciously allows us to use all we need for 
life's necessities, and even reasonable luxuries. But if 



54 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

we shall persist in appropriating to self all his gifts, and 
foolishly hoard up our all for personal uses, God will 
certainly bring us to severe account. We must learn the 
lesson oi giving. " It is more blessed to give than to re- 
ceive." So said Christ, but the large majority of Amer- 
ica's Christians do not know, from experience, whether 
this statement is true or not. We make few sacrifices. 
We do very little for the spread of the old, old story in 
heathen lands. Indeed, there are many places in our own 
land where the sound of the church bell has never been 
heard. And yet we are rich. God has marvelously 
blessed the Christians of America. Dr. Strong estimates 
that the Christians of America were worth over eight bill- 
ions of dollars in 1880, or about one-fifth of the entire wealth 
of the country. And yet, out of this vast capital, we gave 
only '* one-sixteenth part of one per cent , or one dollar 
out of every fifteen hundred and eighty-six," for the con- 
version of the heathen nations to Christ ! Americans 
spend ;^ 1, 500,000,000 annually for liquor and tobacco, 
^125,000,000 for dress goods, ;g58,ooo,ooo for finger 
rings, ;$25,ooo,ooo for kid gloves, ;^5,ooo, 000 for ostrich 
feathers, and — listen. Oh, ye citizens of this God-pr o ected 
and God-prospered country — ;^3, 500,000 for the salva- 
tion of those nations where the love of Christ is yet 
unknown! We dig our money out of the mines, and put 
it in railroads, telegraphs, steamships ; in great business 
establishments, temples of amusement, and fashionable 
cathedrals. We erect magnificent palaces, and fill them 
with all the paraphernalia of luxury. In short, we grat- 
ify self in every way that heart can desire, and then throw 
a few crumbs to the famishing nations across the seas. 
This is the result of mammon worship. And this will be 
the cause of our downfall as a nation, if we do not change 
our course. God is no respecter of persons. He would 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 55 

not bear with Israel in such a course of idolatry. Neither 
will he bear with us. 

So let Christians awake to a sense of duty on this ques- 
tion. America can not be reclaimed from mammon wor- 
ship so long as Christians fail to set an example of true 
devotion and thorough self-sacrifice to Christ. Let us 
therefore get wealth by all honorable means. But let us 
use that wealth as not abusing it. Let us give it to the 
spread of God's kingdom throughout the earth. Let us 
build churches and schools, and charitable institutions 
of all kinds. Let us elevate and educate the poor and 
illiterate. Let us send out ten thousand heralds of the 
cross to the lost and ruined of other lands. When Amer- 
ica shall lead the world in missions ; when America shall 
lead the world in Christ-likeness ; when America shall be 
known from '* Greenland's icy mountains to India's 
coral strand," as the prince of all Christian countries; 
ah, when America shall conform, in theory and in prac- 
tice, to the laws and liberties of Bible sobriety, righteous- 
ness, and godliness, then, and not till then, shall we look 
above the eagle and exclaim, reverently and truthfully : 
** In God we trust! " 



56 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 



LECTURE V. 

America's Denominationalism; or, Shall We Ignore 
the Teachings or God's Book, W^aste Our Sub- 
stance, and so Lose Our Heritage? 

" Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on 
me through their word, that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in 
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that the world may be- 
lieve that thou hast sent me.'' — Jesus. 

The world is full of religious systems. It is natural 
for man to worship a being superior to himself. This 
element finds activity in a multitude of religions. His- 
tory is replete with the names of great religious leaders. 
Here we have Confucius, Zoroaster, Buddha, Mohammed, 
and^others. All, in many respects, were good, true men ; 
and in their several religious systems may be found many 
pure and worthy doctrines. But this does not prove any- 
thing in favor of the divinity of such systems. They 
would never have been known had man remained faithful 
to God. Since the fall of Adam, however, it has been 
natural for man to sin. It is just as natural for him to 
regret his waywardness, sooner or later, and to endeavor 
to secure forgiveness and peace of soul. Hence there is 
no tribe or nation on the face of the globe, hovv^ever igno- 
rant and undeveloped, which has not some form of religion. 
And how fearfully and wonderfully different these various 
forms! How conflicting and inconsistent! Yet the ad- 
herents of each are sincere in their devotions, sometimes 
to astounding extremes. Some of these religions are very 
old. Some of them have many, many millions of com- 



AXD THEIR REMEDIES. 57 

municants. But what of all this ? Does sincerity of mo- 
tive, or remoteness of origin, or numerical strength figure 
anything in an intelligent consideration of a movement or 
system among men ? Confessedly no. If so, why were 
the antediluvians so severely anathematized ? The sum 
and substance of the whole matter is this : Through for- 
getfulness of God and disobedience to his commandments, 
man wandered far, far away from the royal path of duty, 
and now he blindly endeavors to extricate himself from 
the wilderness of evil into which he has fallen, by an ad- 
herence to a system, the very existence of which is linked 
inseparably with his transgression. 

Just here it is fitting that we introduce Christianity. 
Christianity is also a system of religion. Like other sys- 
tems, it is centered in a great leader. That leader is Jesus, 
the Christ. Turning to the Bible, we find this state- 
ment in the book of John: '' God so loved the world that 
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And 
in the book of Matthew we read that the angel instructed 
Mary to call the child y^.s"//^, ' ' for he shall save his people 
from their sins." Here is the glory of Christianity; it 
offers poor, lost, sinful man a Saviour and salvation ! 
This no other religion can do. In this fact we have an 
unanswerable argument as to the value of Christianity 
above all other religious systems. Confucianism has noth- 
ing good and essential for man that Christianity does not 
have. Neither has Buddhism, Mohammedanism, nor any 
other of the world's religious systems. They have nothing 
good and essential for man that Christianity does not also 
have. But Christianity presents what no other system 
has, and that, too, the most glorious gift the soul can 
desire, a Saviour, and eternal salvation. 



58 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

Jesus, the Christ, is the only perfect man the world 
has seen, and his the only perfect system of religion. 
Others may have many excellent points, but none are 
perfect. They all lack the absolutely essential quality of 
perfection, namely, divinity. Christ is divine ; hence his 
scheme of human redemption is perfect. 

''Star unto star speaks light, and world to world 
Repeats the passage of the universe 
To God ; the name of Christ — the one great word, 
Well worth all languages in earth or heaven." 

— Bailey. 

But how does Christ save men ? True, he suffered and 
died on the cruel Roman cross, and we read that ''his 
blood cleanseth from all sin " This, however, does not 
answer the question satisfactorily. In the book of John, 
Christ says : *'I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; 
no man cometh unto the Father but by me." But how 
come ? By following the precepts of his system. In other 
words, by entering his church, and living up faithfully 
to the requirements of his gospel. This is the way, and 
the only way, for Paul says in the book of Romans, that 
''the gospel is God's power unto salvation, to every one 
that believeth." And Christ said unto Peter, when the 
latter first made that grand confession, "Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God," that "Thou art Peter; 
and upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates 
of hades shall not prevail against it." Again, in a par- 
able, Jesus says : " He that entereth not by the door into 
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same 
is a thief and a robber." " I am the door : by me if any 
man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, 
and find pasture." From a reverent study of these and 
other kindred passages, we can not but conclude that 
Christ purposes to save his people through his church. 
He has made no promise to save outside of his church. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 59 

Obedience to his commandments brings us into his fellow- 
ship, and so long as we remain faithful in this capacity, 
he will remain faithful to us. In his church we are safe, 
and God would bankrupt heaven itself before he would 
see a single promise go unfulfilled. 

Now Christ himself is not here, as he was with Peter 
and James and John, when they walked by the shores of 
Galilee. But he has left us his Word, and- sent us the 
Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Working together with these 
agencies, our Master expects us to carry on his work here 
below, while he prepares eternal mansions for us in the 
Father's home. We have explicit directions in the Word 
how to carry on this work, and we can not fail to win glo- 
rious victories over sin and unrighteousness, if we follow 
those directions faithfully. But if we are careless at this 
point ; if we think our way is as good as God's w^ay, per- 
haps ; if we, even from the purest of motives, ignore the 
teachings of GodV Book, then do we wound our Master, 
and injure his cause. And this, be it said with shame and 
sorrow, is just what denominationalism is doing to-day. 

By the term ''denomination" we understand a body 
of religious people gathered together under one name, 
and this name not found in the Word of God ; gathered 
together under one system of doctrines, and these doc- 
trines found or not found^ as the case may be, in the 
Word of God ; gathered together with one idea, the advance- 
ment of their movement, no matter whether that move- 
ment is strictly scriptural or not. Denominationalism is 
the sum of these various names, doctrines and movements. 
The leaders of every denomination (except the Roman 
Catholic, perhaps, which claims to be the true and only 
church) all claim that their respective bodies are but 
branches of the true church ; although different from, and 
perhaps better than, all other branches, still not the church 



60 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

itself, but simply a part of it, a branch. By denomina- 
tionalists, the beautiful and significant expression of the 
Master's, in the book of John, '* I am the vine, and ye 
are the branches," is often quoted in vindication of their 
existence in separate bodies. But this is not a fair and in- 
telligent use of the expression. The Saviour was not talk- 
ing to denominations when he uttered those words. In- 
deed, there were no denominations at that time, nor for 
nearly three hundred years afterward. The church itself 
was not established as yet! He was talking to individual 
disciples, and his language ought never to be applied to a 
body or movement such as a modern denomination. 

By the term ** church" we understand the body of 
the Lord ; in other words, the called out of the Lord. 
The church is composed of obedient servants of Qod, of 
those who have, from the heart, obeyed the form of doc- 
trine found in the word of God. Every person on earth, 
who has thus obeyed, is a member of the church. It can 
not be otherwise. The church looks to God for its system 
of doctrine. His Word is taken as the only rule of faith 
and practice. It w^ears the name of its glorious Founder, 
Christ, '*for there is none other name under heaven, 
given among men, whereby we must be saved." It is 
evident, therefore, that denominationalism is not all it 
claims to be. Its promulgation and perpetuation is sinful, 
and it is high time that Christians everywhere were awak- 
ening to this fact, and to a sense of duty with reference to 
these matters. 

But some may inquire, Why is denominationalism 
sinful? First, because it ignores the teachings of God's 
Word. At this point there is much disagreement^ but 
there is no reasonable necessity for it. Says the Rev. 
Geo. C. Lorimer, of Chicago, in a volume of addresses^ 
published in 1883: '* As I read the New Testament I 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 6l 

find that there is a sense in which all Christians are really 
one. Superficially and outwardly they may be separated, 
but essentially and spiritually they are united. This is 
our Saviour's doctrine." This is a very pleasant state- 
ment, but it would be more acceptable if the writer had 
given us the references. His mere affirmation is hardly 
sufficient in so important a case. In the same address he 
says, after advancing some beautiful views of Christian 
union : '' Without referring to the apostles for the con- 
firmation of this view, we may conclude that it is worthy 
our support, and should be recognized as fundamental to 
a just conception of Christian union." But why did not 
Mr. Lorimer take the time to refer to the apostles in such 
an important matter ? We want plain statements from 
God's plain Book before we accept any theory or doctrine 
held up by man for our acceptance. This is reasonable, 
for Paul says that ''all scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God 
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. " 
It is not unreasonable, therefore, to demand of denomina- 
tionalists to give us scriptural authority for their existence. 
But this they can not do. There is not one word in God' s 
Book that sanctions modern denominationalism. On the 
other hand, there is much to condemn it. Jesus prayed 
that his followers might be one. Denominationalism 
thwarts an answer to this prayer. It is folly to talk about 
''practical Christian unity," or "unity in diversity,^' 
when the Christian world is split up into such an appall- 
ing number of different denominations, and while between 
many of them there exists the most cordial hatred. With 
so many denominations promulgating so many and such 
conflicting doctrines, we can not expect anything but con- 
fusion and bitterness. God's Word says: "The servant 



62 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

of the Lord must not strive." It also says, '* God is not 
the author of confusion," but of peace. In the face of 
these scriptures, how can any man of God stand up and 
defend modern denominationaHsm, with all its envy and 
strife and rancor, with all its Babel of conflicting dogmas 
and doctrines ? And yet this is what nine-tenths of the 
Christian world is doing to-day. Sentiment is powerfully 
in favor of religious divisions. But oh, dear, dying 
brother, when shall we learn that men can not go to 
heaven on sentiment ? When shall we grasp the mighty 
meaning of the Saviour's words in that memorable Ser- 
mon on the Mount : '* Not every one that saith unto me, 
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but 
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven " ? 
Denominationalists claim that it is not wrong for 
Christians to divide up into various religious bodies and 
movements. But what does God's Word say? Turn to 
the book of Ephesians, and read the following : ''I there- 
fore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk 
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all 
lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing 
one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of 
the Spirit in the bond of peace.'' DenominationaHsm de- 
stroys the bond of peace, and fails to keep the unity of 
the Spirit. Is this a light thing ? It is argued that men 
can not see alike, and hence we must have these different 
denominations. But where is the reference in the Word 
of God for such a conclusion ? It is not to be found. 
Paul, on the other hand, in his first letter to the Corin- 
thians, says: '^I beseech you, brethren, by the name of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, 
and that there be no divisions among yon ; but that ye be 
perfectly joined together in the saine mindy and in the same 
Judgment.'^ Yet men will trample this language under 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 6$ 

foot, and go on and on in their promulgation and perpet- 
uation of divisions. Is this right? Is this Christian? 
No ; it is sinful. Burning zeal for Christ and love for 
lost souls does not create denominations. They are 
formulated rather by those who love self and opinion more 
than God and fact. The devil is the father of dogma. 
He delights in confounding men, and in no way has he 
succeeded better in this than in splitting the Christian 
world up into so many sects, and then forcing into the 
creeds of these sects so many inconsistent and irreconcil- 
able doctrines. All these divisions and dogmas he 
shrewdly labels ''Christianity," thus bringing reproach 
upon the precious cause of Christ. Not a few look upon 
the warring denominations of the Christian world, and ex- 
claim, Well, if that is Christianity, I want none of it ! 
Hence we can not but declare that denominationalism is 
responsible to-day for the great bulk of the skepticism 
and infidelity which we are compelled to meet on every 
hand. Voltaire spoke very cuttingly when he said : 
''There is no sect in geometry, mathematics, or experi- 
mental philosophy. When truth is evident it is impos- 
sible to divide people into parties and factions." Without 
acknowledging the fairness of this sneer at Christianity, 
we would suggest that Christians should take from it a 
just rebuke ; and oh, that men everywhere might speed- 
ily learn the golden truth, that denominationalis7n is not 
Christianity ! 

We would not, for a moment, argue that denomina- 
tionalism has not been blessed of God, and that it has 
not thus done much good among men. But we do believe 
that far greater blessings would have been received, and 
far richer results have been attained, if Christ's followers 
had ever remained in one body, as they did for three 
centuries following Pentecost. It is a mistaken idea 



64 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

some have, this thinking that they can improve upon 
God's plan. Some say that, as the times are different 
now, we must have a different plan from that of the 
early workers in the Christian vineyard ; that we must 
have doctrines and churches to suit all classes. But 
where is the authority for such teaching? Not in the 
Bible. It has been evolved from the fertile mind of man, 
and not developed from any scriptural statements. 

But if denominationalism is wrong, how does it come 
that God has blessed it ? We believe that God has used 
denominationalism just as he used the wicked prophet 
Balaam. The devil has attempted to multiply divisions, 
and thus curse the church ; but God, willing to spare his 
children, has put a blessing in every movement. But as 
Balaam was not excusable, neither is denominationalism. 
God demands pure men for his acceptance ; and he insists 
that they keep themselves pure in his service, and that they 
follow implicitly his directions. We are glad to admit 
that there are thousands and tens of thousands of good 
and noble men in the service of denominationalism. But 
oh, how much better and nobler might every one be, 
could they have the moral courage and spiritual manhood 
to step right out of all man-made systems, and be simply 
Christians, nothing more, nothing less ! It would further 
the cause of Christ a hundred years in one ! But so long 
as good men will grow old and gray-haired, studying and 
defending pet doctrines and dogmas, just so long will the 
Saviour's final triumph over Satan be retarded. 

Again, denominationalism is sinful because it causes 
Christians to waste their substance — to spend God's 
money unadvantageously. For instance, here is a little 
city of say three thousand inhabitants. It has ten 
churches, costing, let it be estimated, on an average, 
;$4,000 each. Thus we have an expenditure of $40,000 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 65 

for church property, and then an expense of say ;^ 10,000 
annually for the support of ten pastors. These pastors 
spend a large part of their time in running across each 
other's tracks. Sometimes three or four of them will be 
after the^ same poor sinner, each presenting the claims 
of his church, and endeavoring to impress his would-be 
victim with the superiority of his particular '^branch'' 
over all the rest. Here we have, in a city of three thou- 
sand, ;^40,ooo invested in church property, where the half 
of it would erect two elegant buildings sufficiently large 
to accommodate every man, woman and child in the 
place ; a waste of money. Here we have expended on 
salaries and contingent expenses, for ten men and ten 
churches, ;^i 0,000 annually, when less than half would 
support comfortably two fine churches and two able men ; 
a waste of money again. And here we have ten men 
where two could do the work, and do it better ; a waste 
of talent. One billion souls are crying for the bread of 
life, and here we are, O friendly denominationalists, wast- 
ing our strength in promoting our differences ! Stop it ! 
It is time all professed followers of the meek and lowly 
Nazarene were thinking along these lines. The popula- 
tion of the heathen world is increasing far more rapidly 
than the population in Christian lands. How can we ever 
hope to see the day when the kingdoms of this world 
shall become the kingdom of our Lord and his dear Son, 
when we are foolishly letting go the golden opportunities 
God is placing before us, rather than let go our religious 
prejudices and speculations? God says: *'Ask of me, 
and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. " ^^ 
We are asking to-day, but are we taking the right course 
to expect a favorable answer to our prayers ? God also 

- Ps. ii. 8. 



66 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

says: ''Be not slothful in business." ''Provide things 
honest in the sight of all men/' * Let us ask, in the full- 
orbed light of God's revealed will, can we dare expect the 
Lord to give us the heathen for our inheritance, so long as 
we ourselves live so inconsistently ? There is great danger 
that we shall not only lose this promised inheritance, but 
that we lose our own eternal heritage ; for, however pure 
and zealous our hearts and lives may be, if we fail to do 
the will of the Lord in these vital particulars, we ought 
not to expect our Father to change the laws of heaven for 
our special benefit. 

Denominationalism is the legitimate offspring of strife, 
vainglory, and narrow conceptions of the truth. Certain 
leaders formulate a system, and to the advancement of 
this system they give their lives. They grow severely 
tenacious over certain doctrinal points, and frequently 
end in a deep-seated prejudice against all other systems. 
They grow blind to any faults that may appear in their 
own. Having drawn it from the Bible, as they believe, 
and having sanctified it with prayers and tears, with labors 
and sacrifices, they fondly imagine that their system 
ought to be speedily acknowledged by all the world. 
Thus we have Calvinism, Arminianism, Catholicism, and 
a host of others isms. Every one of them conflicts with 
the other ; and every one of them, in some important 
points, conflicts with the Bible. There is no absolute, 
indeed there is no reasonable necessity for the existence 
of any one of these systems. Like the religions of the 
Pagan world, they contain nothing good but what the 
Bible contains, but they have within their tenets much which 
the Bible does not contain, and, moreover, which is very 
unbiblical in its nature. Churchianity, not Christianity, is 
the mother of religious bigotry, superstition, and bitterness. 

V Rom. xii. 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 6/ 

Denominationalism, owing its existence as it does to preju- 
diced interpretations of the Scriptures, is the foster-parent 
of all the Christian world's conflicting creeds. How 
much better it would be could all these creeds be burned, 
and all their adherents merged into one great body, the 
body of our Lord Jesus Christ ! Then would the Bible 
be accepted as the only and all-sufficient rule of faith and 
practice ! Then would scoffers be forever silenced. Then 
would the faith of Christians increase until the whole 
world would be filled with the knowledge and love of the 
Lord. 

In a recent number of the Nineteenth Century, Prof. 
Huxley reasonably remarks : *^ I have always advocated 
the reading of the Bible, and the diffusion of the study of 
that most remarkable collection of books among the peo- 
ple. Its teachings are so infinitely superior to those of 
the sects, who are just as busy now as the Pharisees were 
eighteen hundred years ago in smothering them under 
the precepts of men. It is so certain, to my mind, that 
the Bible contains within itself the refutation of nine- 
tenths of the mixture of sophistical metaphysics and 
old-world superstitions which has been piled around it by 
the so-called Christians of later times ; it is' so clear that 
the only immediate and ready antidote to the poison that 
has been mixed with Christianity, to the intoxication and 
delusion of mankind, lies in copious draughts from the un- 
defiled spring, that I exercise the right and duty of free 
judgment on the part of every man, mainly for the pur- 
pose of inducing other laymen to follow my example." 
The distinguished scientist is right in this. If men would 
devote themselves more to the Bible, rather than creed ; 
if followers of Christ would devote themselves more to 
his church, rather than their pet denominations, it would 
be but a short time when the hght of the cross would 



68 SOME AMERICAN EVILS 

illumine the uttermost parts of the earth with its redeem- 
ing brightness. 

In view of all this, may we not regard America's de- 
nominationalism as one of the great evils of the day ? It 
is an evil, too, of mighty proportions. According to 
estimates taken from the New York Christian Advocate, of 
March 21, 1889, the number of communicants in the evan- 
gelical churches of this country has increased twenty-seven- 
fold since 1800. Our population has increased but nine- 
fold during the same length of time. Of Regular Baptists, 
North, South, and Colored, there are 2,997,794 gathered 
into 32,900 churches, and served by 21,420 ministers. 
Of the Methodist Episcopal Church, North and South, 
there are 3,026,295 members, 17,332 ministers, and 
33,295 churches. These figures do not include local 
preachers and probationers. Of the five divisions of the 
Lutheran Church, there are 1,036,970 communicants, 
4., 512 ministers, and 7,610 churches. Of the Presbyterian 
Church, North and South, there are 878,320 communi- 
cants, 6,918 ministers, and 8,823 churches. Of Congre- 
gationalists, there are 457,584 members, 4,284 ministers, 
and 4,404 churches. The Protestant Episcopal Church 
has 456,720 members, 4,053 ministers, and 3,450 churches. 
Think of this vast array of strength, all divided up, con- 
trary to the teachings of God's Word, and contrary to 
the dictates of good, common sense ! And these are not 
all. There are scores of lesser denominations which are 
struggling for an existence, each claiming to be just as 
good, if not so successful a '' branch " as its larger con- 
temporaries. And right here let us speak of an unde- 
nominational movement known as the ''Current Relig- 
ious Reformation. " This movement was inaugurated by 
a number of great and good men, like Thomas and Alex- 
ander Campbell, Barton W. Stone, Walter Scott, and 



AND THEIR REMEDIES. 69 

others, about the beginning of this century. It has 
spread like wild-fire, until its adherents are found in 
almost every county, city and town in America, and num- 
bering to-day, according to careful authorities, nearly one 
million. These people take the Bible as their only guide, 
and Christ as their only creed. They call themselves 
simply ''disciples," ''Christians,'' or any other such 
name found in the Bible. Their churches are called 
simply " Christian Churches," or " Churches of Christ," 
and there are already over six thousand of these. Their 
ministers accept no titles of distinction, other than those 
found in the Scriptures. There are about five thousand 
ministers in this movement, many of them standing in the 
very front ranks of the world's thinkers, preachers and 
workers. The one great idea of this movement is a restora- 
tion of the teachiiigs aiid pi^actices of apostolic times, and 
thus the union of all Christians upon the Bible, the divine 
basis of all development. No religious movement in the 
history of the world has grown so rapidly and exercised 
so powerful an influence over other movements as this. 
It is destined to sweep the world 

And why not ? O God, hasten the day when not only 
the Christians of America, but the Christians of every 
nation, may be one, and thus fulfill the Master's prayer ! 
"In unity there is strength." *' A hpuse divided against 
itself can not stand." When, oh, when shall we have 
learned these golden lessons? " By uniting we stand, 
by dividing we fall," said John Dickinson, in his "Lib- 
erty Song." What is true of the State in this particular, 
is true of the Church. Oh that the time were here when 
religious partisanship were unknown. Then might we 
sing of the Church as Macaulay sang of the State : 

** Then none was for a party ; 
Tiien all were for the State ; 



70 SOME AMERICAN EVILS. 

Then the great man helped the poor, 
And the poor man loved the great ; 

" The lands were fairly portioned ; 
The spoils were fairly sold : 
The Romans were like brothers 
In the brave days of old." 

Then might we sing of the churches as George EHot 
sang of a brother and sister : 

*' Our two lives grew like two buds that kiss 
At the lightest thrill from the bee's swinging chime, 
Because the one so near the other is." 

Then O let us teach and pray and work to this end. 
Let us encourage all union movements, like the Sunday- 
school, revival meetings, and temperance work. Let us 
hold up Christ to the world, and his Book, rather than 
denomination and creed. Away, forever away with all 
sectism ! It is enough to be simply Christian. God asks 
no more. We ought not to attempt more. So let the 
good work of restoration go on, until there shall be no 
sects in earth, for there are none in heaven. O let it 
go on, until all God's children shall be one, even as he 
and the Saviour are one ! Then shall the world believe 
that truly Jesus is the Christ ! 



